Opening and titles analysis: Scream

Opening and titles analysis: Scream

Given the time of the film's production we have to ignore any stereotypes that are contemporary as it is because such films that we have stereotypes and clichés. Nevertheless I will consider these factors based on today's societies opinions.

The film begins with a slanted view of "Dimension films" with is partly shadowed by the darkness of the black background, as the audience we may not associate such a producer with notorious films given that this particular film was the first of its franchise. Nevertheless the titles suddenly disappear of the screen with immediate effect, and then follow the title of the film "Scream", which are all in capital letters which therefore suggests its significance to the film. Also the white titles fall from the upper third of the screen and suddenly stop in the middle with a jittery effect, at the same time we hear a phone ringing and a loud scream which overcomes the sound of the phone for a small period of time. Then the titles begin pulsating both with the effect and sound of a heartbeat,( which effectively creates tension) between red and white whilst the screaming in the background becomes gradually louder. This leads the audience to feel unsettled as we are able to gather any particular rhythm so we are unnerved by the opening, but then with the sound of a knife and also the sound of a gunshot (which stereotypically connotes danger/violence) the titles stop dead and stay red for about 1.5 seconds. Next the screen zooms in and focuses on the R of SCREAM as it fades into the storyline.

Significantly our first character view is built upon a female character, who picks up the phone at the same time as the screaming stopped, perhaps the insertion of the sound bridge (of the phone ringing) is used to link all of the non-diegetic sounds together such as the knife, heartbeat, gunshot, which the audience typically associate with violence and danger. Furthermore a contrast in emotion is displayed immediately via a close up of the woman's face. At first she is smiling innocently but after the second phone call (the tone of which we are put on edge by given its inclusion in the titles) her facial expression becomes nervous, which therefore reflects upon the audience. Additionally during the second phone call the camera angle is canted therefore implicating to the audience that all is not right, given that this shot is commonly used to highlight or to display something that is unusual. Afterwards we see a dark setting of what appears to be the outside of the house, but as the camera slows pans downwards we see that the swing is suspiciously moving, ultimately reinforcing a sense of enigma surrounding both the location and the un known caller. Lastly tension is built efficiently using props, for example the popcorn creates tensions as it gradually grows larger with both sound and size which would unsettle the audience, especially knowing that the female character is unaware of the popcorn. But also the knife, this anaphoric reference links back to the titles which were considered to be violent / dangerous.

I also like how we cannot see the antagonist throughout the opening this therefore creates suspense through is invisibility to the audience, and I also like how the change in tone (from the antagonist) successfully creates tension, through its sudden and dramatic contrast. This is a feature I would like to emulate in my production, but at the same time I am weary of using dialogue, as if not done properly it could appear almost humoristic and therefore the opening won't be taken seriously.

The cold open was ultimately successful as it draws the audience in but also considering the gratifications theory it is clear to see the objective of this film is to entertain the audience and also perhaps to offer a sense of escapism as it is easy to become intrigued in such a film due to the rarity of the situation. Given that the typical horror seeking gender is males aged between 16-21, at the time I am not surprised that the age rating was 18, as this was one of the first successful films of its genre so it would be hard to give the film an accurate rating without any other comparison. Additionally despite not having an all star cast, the film still consisted of popular and well known actors such as Drew Barrymore (above), this may have been in favour of the producer and directors as the audiences may have deliberately seen this film of the basis of the actors and may have avoided it had the film not had a some well known actors in its cast.

 

Use of parody/cliché in the opening:

Immediately during the opening we see our first character, a blonde female dressed in simple clothes with a slow tone/speed of speech. For example despite such a stereotypical female character typically being used to portray a lack of mental awareness/ability, during this opening she is used to exaggerate fear, but still through the same terms. This is exemplified through the bubbly personality of the character quickly being transformed into a symbol of fear. Also the fact that the audience can relate to the personality of the character further sustains the audience's interest through how relatable the character is.

Nevertheless, parody is created during the opening scene as in today's society we consider the female character to be a stereotype, therefore contrasting what was meant to be a serious opening into what some people consider today to be a parody style of opening.

However I do not consider the titles to be parodying the genre as I believe the bold red colour, as well as large size / magnification are factors that converge with that of a Horror genre.